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Aruba Switches vs Extreme VDX [EOL] comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Aruba Switches
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
83
Ranking in other categories
Ethernet Switches (2nd)
Extreme VDX [EOL]
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

Eunice Thirikwa - PeerSpot reviewer
Stable hotel networking enhances return on investment with valuable modular features
There are issues with the distribution side of Aruba Switches. For instance, the distributor in our country cannot sell to neighboring countries, creating complications in project execution. Improving the distribution network across regions would be beneficial. Also, the SFP modules are significantly more expensive than industry peers, which affects cost-effectiveness.
Osama Ahmed LUBBAD - PeerSpot reviewer
A stable, scalable, and problem-free solution
Software needs to be updated regularly in order to maintain security and performance. However, in some cases, it is necessary to stack switches in order to meet the needs of the network. Although Cisco switches are able to stack, other switches are not as simple to stack. I would like the ability to stack with different switch brands.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"I like the Aruba Central platform. It makes a lot of sense. The switches have a lot of great capabilities. Central can lockdown VLANs and control the apps and protocols. There are several built-in security features that I'm not utilizing. However, those capabilities are part of the reason I'm using enterprise switches in a small office. I like knowing that I can do these things when necessary."
"All of the networking products that we use are Aruba, so we use Aruba Central to manage them."
"The solution's most valuable aspect is its monitoring capabilities."
"I like the number of available throughputs and its ability to have different speeds of ethernet cards or fiber-optic SFPs. It's a core switch, and you can configure it as per your requirements. All the configuration details are well documented on the HP website or Aruba website, and one can easily refer to those and find all the relevant commands from the documentation itself. It's also easy to maintain this solution. It's also cheaper than competing products."
"Aruba is very easy to use, the GUI is very good and the command line is quite similar to Cisco, so it is very easy to configure."
"Aruba Switches are definitely stable."
"Aruba Switches is stable."
"The initial installation of Aruba Switches is easy."
"Its simplicity and web interface were most valuable. I also liked the two-factor authentication."
"The most valuable feature of Extreme VDX is that we have had no problems and the solution's performance is excellent."
"The fabric of the solution and the management aspect are the solution's most valuable features."
 

Cons

"The firmware in this solution has a lot of bugs that become noticeable when you have complex implementations."
"Aruba Switches' price could improve, if they were less expensive it would be beneficial."
"The templates to automate our switches need improvement."
"I would prefer it if they reduced the cost of the switches and the access points."
"It would be good if I could get a 24-port, 10 gig module."
"This product could be improved with additional security features."
"There are issues with the distribution side of Aruba Switches."
"Aruba Switches don't need licenses to activate features and work straight out of the box, which is an advantage over some competitors. This implies less room for complaints compared with other solutions."
"Its scalability can be better. If possible, it can have Hyper POE. I am not sure if there is a fiber version."
"I would like the ability to stack with different switch brands."
"The only problem is that at the moment it's an Extreme product and Extreme is not really pushing it. They have to make up for weak innovation and I'm not sure if they want to do that."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Aruba Switches are less expensive than Cisco."
"The license is annual. If you purchase a switch, you get a one-year free subscription."
"This is an affordable solution."
"The pricing is perfect."
"This is an expensive product, costing about double what most competitors do."
"Comparing with Cisco, and some other solutions, it's a cheap product."
"The price point was a big consideration for us and it is reasonable enough that we're able to standardize on Aruba for the networking pieces in our organization."
"It is expensive compared to the competition."
"It was around $1500 a year. It is cheaper than Cisco but more expensive than Ruckus."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Educational Organization
8%
Government
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Aruba Switches?
Aruba lives up to the expectations of the tech giant hewlett packard enterprise providing excellent networking capabilities at a very affordable price compared to the equivalent from another tech g...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Switches?
I find it to be middle to high. It's not always affordable, but they're losing the pricing market against Huawei, let's just put it like that.
What needs improvement with Aruba Switches?
There isn't much room for improvement. A more granular breakdown in debugging would be beneficial. Apart from that, not much is needed.
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Also Known As

8400 Series, 8320 Series, 5400R Series, 3810 Series, 2930M Series, 2930F Series, 2920 Series, 2540 Series, 2530 Series
VDX, Brocade VDX
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Purdue University
Niagra Falls Bridge Commission, Medien System Partner, CDE Lightband, MaximumASP
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Netgear and others in Ethernet Switches. Updated: March 2025.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.